Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is making a big play of the fact that the subvention was lower when times were better. He also said that other Opposition parties did not allow for a greater level of subvention. When the fundamentals of the company's viability changed on the Minister's watch last year, he was required to reallocate €35 million from other areas of his Department. It is clear that, at the outset, the Minister did not know the group of companies was going to run into the difficulty it did at the end of 2012. Is the Minister suggesting that the Opposition should have a greater knowledge than he does? The facts changed during the course of last year with a reduction in usage and therefore a drop in fares' intake. Of course, the Minister had to look at what sort of service he wanted and he provided the appropriate funding at a later stage. I welcomed that at the time. However, I still believe that a strategic review is needed to decide what kind of national service he intends to have.

The Minister will also have to review the licensing issue. If he brings in more private services, they will have a greater impact on the ability of Bus Éireann to survive.

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